A New Ganassi

Has Chip Ganassi Racing ever been a power house team within NASCAR? The Organization has won multiple IndyCar and Sports Car championships. The organization has won multiple IndyCar and Sports Car races and championships; yet the NASCAR side of his operation has only won a handful of races – big races mind you, the Daytona 500, the Brickyard 400 and the Sprint All-Star race, but still a limited number. What is lacking is a Sprint Cup Series championship trophy in Chip Ganassi Racing's resume to go along with the wins.

With the introduction of Kyle Larson, following the release of Juan Pablo Montoya, there has been a remarkable change in Ganassi's chances of securing a Sprint Cup title. It might now happen this year, or even next year, however Chip Ganassi Racing appears to have what it takes to be a serious challenger for the title by 2016.

            Chip Ganassi made a bold statement by tapping the young Kyle Larson to take over command of the 42 car. While many doubted his decision, my personal opinion is, it is the smartest move Ganassi could have ever made. The struggling team has needed youth and talent, to spread over the group. The change was immediate as Ganassi revamped the Target team, and added life back to the car with the flashy white wheels and blended paint scheme, but this won’t change everything. The unleashed talent will.

            When Chip announced Dylan Kwasniewski as there new development driver he was making another powerful statement. The statement simple yet strong, a new Ganassi is coming and everyone needs to be ready. There is no doubt in my mind Kwasniewski will be the next drive of the 1 car, and when this happens Ganassi will be at the forefront of youth and talent. Kwasniewski still has a lot to learn as his rookie season in the Nationwide Series hasn’t exactly gone to plan by the way of finishes and team. Kwasniewski has a unique opportunity driving both the 31 for Turner Scott Motorsports as well as the 42 TSM Chevy when Larson cannot make races. To me this is an advantage for the young rookie and it will pay off when he takes the next step.

            Chip Ganassi Racing is slowly becoming the most youthful and talented team in NASCAR. When the time comes for Larson and Kwasinewski to take to the cup series as teammates, the raw talent and skill will flourish. It may not be an instant change, but none the less watch out. 

-Stephen Appell

Kwasniewski’s Rough Start

Dylan Kwasniewski entered the 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Season as one of the highest regarded rookies. Kwasniewski, who made the move into the Nationwide Series after becoming the first driver to win NASCAR K&N Pro Series West and East Championship’s back to back, made a strong statement at Daytona by qualifying on pole and respectfully finishing eighth. But that’s where it stopped; Daytona has been his only top ten to date.

Kwasniewski stated at the beginning of the season he was not expecting to win races right away, but this probably wasn’t the young rookie's plan either. Despite strong qualifying efforts, he has just a handful of respectable finishes within the top twenty, and his three poor finishes resulted in wrecks and on-track conflicts. But Kwasniewski’s rookie season is far from ordinary; shortly after the start of the season he was tapped by Chip Ganassi Racing as their next development driver. Despite being the primary driver of the number 31 Rockstar Energy Chevy for Turner Scott Motorsport, he is also the secondary driver of the 42 TSM Chevy when Kyle Larson is not present for Nationwide events. As a rookie, he has bounced between two cars with two different crew chiefs. Though he is racing for the same team, each car's crew chief is different. This situation is a hard obstacle for a rookie to overcome. Kwasniewski made his debut in the 42 this past Sunday at Iowa and all he wanted was a good clean finish, which is what he got. Kwasniewski finished eleventh at Iowa, one of the few tracks he is familiar with. A finish like that is a confidence booster for any rookie needing to get back on rhythm. With his talent and skill there is no doubt Kwasniewski will be racking up the top tens soon. He has all the tools at his disposal, and has the guidance of two veteran crew chiefs such as Pat Tryson and Scott Zipadelli. With two crew chief’s like that, it is only a matter of time until he finds his groove and is back to making a statement.

Single Car Qualifying No More

        NASCAR makes a huge change to the qualifying format. The traditional single car qualifying we are all accustom to throughout NASCAR's top three series will be no more. NASCAR announced January 22nd a Formula 1 style knockout qualifying will be instituted at all tracks. With different formats for tracks under and over 1.25 miles in length. For tracks over 1.25mi The first qualifying elimination round will be 25 minutes in duration and includes all cars/trucks. The 24 cars/trucks that post the fastest single lap from the first qualifying round will advance to the second round. Remaining cars will be sorted based on time. The second qualifying elimination round will be 10 minutes in duration and the 12 cars/trucks that post the fastest single lap time will advance to the third and final round. The fastest remaining cars/trucks earn positions 13th through 24th based on their times posted in qualifying in descending order.The third and final qualifying round will be five minutes in duration and the fastest single lap time will determine positions 1st through 12th in descending order. There will be a 5 minuet break in between each round.
         For tracks under 1.25mi The first qualifying elimination round will be 30 minutes in duration and includes all cars/trucks. The 12 cars/trucks that post the fastest single lap time from the first qualifying round will advance to the second and final round. The second and final qualifying round will be 10 minutes in duration and the fastest single lap time posted will determine positions 1st through 12th in descending order. This format give a 10 minuet break between rounds. The second and final qualifying round will be 10 minutes in duration and the fastest single lap time posted will determine positions 1st through 12th in descending order. 
         The new format will not be in use for the Daytona 500 due to its historic qualifying events, it will also excluded the Camping World Truck Series race at Eldora and non-points Sprint Cup races. A clause in the move I see changing soon is teams will only be given one set of tires to qualify.
         This is another move by NASCAR to improve the fan experience but I'm not sure of the move, while yes it is different and will give excitement to qualifying, we are moving away from tradition. I am interested on how well this will go over at the first tracks of the season. 

Elliot Makes Big Step

Chase Elliot made a large announcement Monday January 6^th, announcing that he will be joining JR Motorsports with NAPA Auto Parts as main sponsor. This will be a huge step for the Hendrick Development Driver and son of Legend Bill Elliot. Elliot who ran 9 Camping World Truck races, where he collected seven top ten’s and one win. Elliot who has been competing full time in the K&N Pro Series East with Aarons as his sponsor but they parted ways at the end of the year. The Partnership with NAPA will be a good fit for the Young Elliot and the Experienced Rick Hendrick. NAPA likes to make long partnerships and this appears to be the start of a brand new one. Elliot comes to the very powerful JR Motorsports and will join Regan Smith, Kevin Harvick, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. as teammates.

Also announced was Earnhardt Jr. fill in testing driver since he cannot make the Nationwide test, he chose Chase’s Father Bill Elliot. This should be an extra boost of confidence for the young Chase Elliot as he makes his first laps.

-Stephen Appell

Gaughan's Time to Shine

The off season marks a new start and opportunity for Brendan Gaughan at Richard Childress Racing. Gaughan will compete full time in the Nationwide Series in the number 62 South Point Chevy, using the points from the 33 car. With this new “blessing” as he called it he is ready to succeed.

            No doubt Gaughan is a good driver but in his former opportunities he did not have strong showings. In 2007 Penske gave him a shot in the cup series, Gaughan recorded only four top ten’s and one top five, before being released. In 2009 Rusty Wallace Racing presented him with a ride for two years, where he had six top five’s and seventeen top ten’s total. From my point of view in these opportunities there appears to be a common factor, was it top notch equipment? Now given these teams had good cars, yet he may not of had that opportunity he could have with the cars he was in, He was the third car at Penske and the second at RWR.

            Now he does have the opportunity and he is ready to prove himself. Every RCR car has the capability to win at any track whether it is a part time car or full time. In Nationwide races this year he was a strong contender at times. Since his move to RCR in the tucks Gaughan has had very impressive runs and showed he still has it. In Phoenix Gaughan stated “He can’t wait to get next season started and to show Richard he will get it done.” From my perspective instead of bringing in a young shoe Richard Childress took a chance on the experienced Gaughan and presented him with the opportunity. Gaughan finally has the equipment to do what he needs to do to be a threat next season in the Nationwide series and he will be one. This will be a true point the team and equipment can hinder driver’s possibilities.

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-           -  Stephen Appell

We Say Farewell

News broke Saturday night that actor and racer Paul Walker and racer Roger Rodas had tragically passed away due to a single car accident in Santa Clarita. Walker most know for his role as Connor O'Brain in the famous Fast & Furious films and Rodas a Pro-Am racer were in a 2005 Porsche GT when they lost control and hit a light pole or tree, causing the car to split and catch fire.
Walker was an avid car enthusiast and was on his way back to a car show benefiting typhoon victims put on by his organization Reach Out WorldWide with Rodas when the accident occured. Walkers death was shocking to the community, he was well liked by many fans not just for his acting but his actions off screen. His fellow Co-Stars were heartbroken over the news, Tyrese Gibson was at the accident sight on Sunday with tears streaming. Vin Diesel was also at the sight last night when he thanked everyone over a police car loud speaker for coming to remember his "brother". But let us not forget Roger Rodas a well accomplished pro-am sports car racer. Rodas was not only a long time friend to walker but his financial adviser and teammate. Rodas competed in Porsche Cup and most recently in the Pirelli World Challenge where he was an owner driver for his team Always Evolving, he claimed rookie of the year with two wins and six podium finishes.
These two loved cars and they loved to give back.
Walker leaves servived by his daughter Meadow, and Rodas with a family of his own.
 They will forever be missed but never forgotten, thank you for all you both have given us rest in peace and Godspeed.

This link is a song that RZA of the Wu Tang Clan made for his friend Paul Walker. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16SAFgCSHTI

-Stephen Appell   

Gen 6 Synopsis

            The Sprint Cup season is over and now it is time to chime in on how the new Gen 6 car performed.

            NASCAR where was this car in 2007, this car is fantastic.

            First off the manufacturers have model identity once again, very reminiscent of the 80’s, the showroom look is back. In the previous seasons with the original Car of Tomorrow the only identity the manufactures had were the grill indents where the decals sat,; now each manufacture is unique, practically no similarities between them. The best part about the new body is that they retained great aerodynamics, and the safety is only getting better which is of the utmost importance.

            So while the differing bodies look good, the true question was how did it preform overall?

            It was off the charts, perfect from superspeedways to short tracks. At the superspeedways the cars were twitchy in the draft like pre-COT cars. Drafting is fun to watch again due to the twitchy manner, along with the bumpers and noses not lining up.

            The intermediate tracks stood out the most; Auto Club Speedway had the best finish of the season, a track leading the category of boring races was in fact the stand-out of the season. The Gen 6 shined on the road courses, it was easily whipped left and right with tight competition.

             Short tracks are short tracks they have always been and always will be exciting, even more so with faster cars.

            Best of all, qualifying offered heart pounding excitement at times. Nineteen track records were set this season, no one knew who the pole sitter would be until the last hundredth of a second.

My opinion is simple - the Gen 6 is astonishing,  the car the fans have been waiting for.

-Stephen Appell